How To Safely Put Out a Grease Fire

1/10/2018 (Permalink)

Cooking is one of the leading causes of house fires in the United States. Often times, cooking fires are ignited by grease, which can be dangerous for both your home and the individuals inside your home. In an effort to keep everyone safe, here are our tips for safely containing and putting out grease fires in your kitchen:

1. DO NOT USE WATER! Trying to extinguish a grease fire with water can be catastrophic. Also stay away from flour, baking powder, or any other cooking powders that resemble baking soda or salt. While baking soda and salt can help (we’ll touch on this later), powders that merely look like them can have very different chemical makeup and will not react well to the grease. They can actually making the fire worse.

2. Cover the flames with a metal lid or cookie sheet. Do not remove cover until it has cooled. This will help contain the fire and suffocate the flames.

3. TURN OFF the heat source! When a grease fire starts, heat fuels it and can make the flames spread and grow stronger. Turning off the heat will cut that main source of fuel.

4. Here’s where the salt and baking soda come in. If possible, pour some salt or baking soda onto the fire – the substances will help smother the flame and significantly reduce its strength.

5. If none of the previous steps are successful in putting out the grease fire, spray the fire with a Class B Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher.

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An important note - IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO EXTINGUISH THE GREASE FIRE, GET OUT. Please keep in mind that your safety and the safety of those around you is most important. A grease fire can become very dangerous very quickly. Evacuate, and once everyone is safely out of harms way, call 911. Do not re-enter your home until the fire has been contained by firefighters.

If your home is damaged by grease fire or any other type of disaster, SERVPRO of Bay County is ready to help with the restoration process. Give us a call at 850-785-1077.